Posted on March 31, 2011 at 2:29 PM by Global Reach
4-H has been an important part of Larry’s life for 56 years. He joined the local neighborhood 4-H club in 1949. Along with a brother and sister being 4-H members, his mother was also a leader. A few years pass by and Larry finds himself the leader of the Wamaco 4-H club from 1972 to 1992..
Besides being a leader, Larry was a member of the 4-H and Youth Committee for six years and the 4-H & FFA Beef Superintendent at the Louisa County Fair for three years. He was instrumental in starting the bottle calf project in the county and assisted with many aspects of this project including interviewing youth at the fair. Several 4-H and FFA buildings on the fairgrounds needed major repairs and Larry worked many long hours along with others to raise money and make these improvements. That time doesn’t include cleaning mud from the grounds and buildings on the fairgrounds after three different floods plus moving the county 4-H and FFA show from the flooded fairground site in Columbus Junction to Wapello in less than a week.
Larry still is at the county fair 24/7 to help any younger 4-H’ers with their exhibits. This might include lending a hand to help a youth with an animal that’s a little wild, taking time to show a 4-H’er how to clip and groom a steer, listen to a 4-H’er or give words of encouragement to the youth.
Larry has been involved and is a promoter of the Louisa County Youth Livestock Sale at the county fair for many years. He feels promoting and finding buyers for the sale helps keep the entire county interested in 4-H and 4-H’ers appreciating their county support.
Larry and his wife, Mary, have been farming for 41 years in Louisa County. Their three sons, Aaron, Duan,e and Adam were 4-H members. The oldest son, Aaron, is the current Wamaco 4-H club leader and two of the eight grandchildren are members with the other 6 waiting to join.
Some of Larry’s best rewards for all the years and time spent helping youth in 4-H is seeing the youth mature from shy little kids into young confident adults. Growing up, Larry’s parents installed 4-H ethics in him and he continues to believe that 4-H and family goes hand in hand.
